Municipal building authority discusses airport improvements

Commissioner Gary Kofford called the Municipal Building Authority meeting to order and began by introducing a contract with the Permanent Community Impact Board for the Huntington Airport improvement project. He said this $400,000 grant will be used for improvements to the hangars at the airport. The board approved to sign the contract. He also noted that if an excess of funding happens, an office and restroom are being considered.

Commissioner Kofford then gave an update of the current projects underway in Emery County. The senior center in Green River is moving along and expected to be complete the first part of August. The fencing, paving and some interior work will be completed this month.

Commissioner Drew Sitterud requested direction from the MBA concerning the care center in Ferron. The kitchen and laundry room portion of the project must be completed, and there is no funding available to do any work to the center.

Commissioner Jeff Horrocks stated there are too many rooms available in the two county area for seniors for the county to be putting money into a project which will compete with private enterprise. When the care center was built, there was no such facility for the seniors of the area. Now there are several types of facilities in the Emery/Carbon county area.

Commissioner Sitterud stated the demand is for assisted living for seniors. The care center in Ferron is full nursing and the county does not have the funding to do the type of remodel it would take to transition the care center to assisted living.

The care center in Ferron employs nearly 100 people and the commissioners asked for the director of the facility to meet with them to answer further questions before a decision is made concerning the future of the facility.

Commissioner Sitterud suggested more investigation into the Children's Justice Center Project before more discussion of the funding. As the Emery County School District has donated the property for the center to be built, the county has some additional questions regarding the fate of the property should it go into default. David Blackwell, the Emery County Attorney will do more research and return with the answers to the commissioners' questions.

The MBA of Emery County meets the first Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. in the commission chambers.